Sanitary Sewer Lateral Program

Effective January 1, 2017, the Sanitary Sewer Lateral Insurance Program reimbursements will be reduced from 80% to 50%.

Over the past several years the City has experienced a major increase in the number of claims in the Creve Coeur Sanitary Sewer Lateral Insurance Program. The expenditures for reimbursements have been significantly higher than revenues collected through the $28.00 per property annual fee, necessitating this reimbursement rate change.

Sewer Lateral Insurance

The City of Creve Coeur insures sewer laterals for homes in the city up to 50%, not to exceed $7,500. A sewer lateral is the pipe that carries household waste to the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) sewer main. This program only covers the portion of pipe that carries household waste from the house connection to the sewer main. A sewer line located under any part of a building or a break inside your home is not covered. For more information, call Public Works at (314) 872-2533.

Sewer Lateral Line Breaks

When a sewer lateral line breaks, sewage typically backs up into the home or yard and areas in the yard collapse where the damaged section of the pipe is located. If you believe your sewer line is broken, there are a few steps you need to take before filing a claim with the city.

What to Do

Contact a plumber or sewer cleaning service to have them clean the pipe. This is a home maintenance expense and is not reimbursable by the city.

If cleaning does not solve the problem, you should file a claim with the city.

In order to file a claim, you first need to obtain a video tape inside the pipe and submit to the PW department along with the application before going any further. The engineer needs to qualify your issue for the program.

If this video shows that the line requires repair or replacement, you must obtain three repair bids and submit them to the city.

The city will review the bid documents and suggest the contractor to perform the work.

It is then the responsibility of the homeowner to enter into the agreement with the contractor.

Upon completion of the work, the homeowner must submit copies of the following:

A receipt showing payment to the contractor for the repair as well as the camera receipt.

A receipt showing all real estate taxes for the current year are paid in full at the homeowners address

Paid real estate tax bill for the current year at the address of the repairs

A lien waiver from the contractor

A completed permit from St. Louis County Plumbing Department

Copies of all the bids received

Upon receipt of all required documents, the city will reimburse the property owner 50% of the cost of all repairs, up to a maximum of $7,500. Prior to the reimbursement, any and all city bills, such as weed invoices, permits and copies and the current year St. Louis County real estate taxes must be paid in full.